Tobacco product and method of making said product



United States Patent Morris and 1Co., Ltd.,.Inc.,'.New Yl'k,.'N- Y,., ,acorporation of Virginia No Drawing. Application July '2, 1953,SerialTNo.f365,779

3 Claims. (Cl. 131-17) This invention relates to a new and novel tobaccoproduct, and method of making saidproduct, adapted for smoking. Moreparticularly,it relates toan improved tobacco product containing,-inaddition-to the tobacco, and in efiective cooperation therewith, amaterial or materials which during smoking, remove certain objectionableconsitutents'fromthe smoke,and the process of manufacture thereof.

Cigarettes, the most popular form of smoking tobacco, consistsessentially of finely cut -tobacco of'diiferent blends enclosed andwrapped inpaper. lnrecent'years, there has been a growing desire of manypeople to have decreased or partially-removed'fromthe' smoke streamprior to entering their mouth, constituents of the smoke which arebelievedto be irritating to the mucous membranes of certain smokers, orotherwise thought, generally harmful. Compounds such as nicotine, carbonmonoxide, acrolein, aldehydes, vhydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide andheterocylic nitrogen-containing .compounds have been classed assuch-objectionable constitutents.

Because of this desire for mildercigarettes, i..e., less irritating tothe smoker, the useof filter-tip cigarettes has .been gaining inpopularity. The effectiveness of these filters varies from.a:;purelypsychological filter, which removes substantially nothing from the smokestream, to those whichremove a 'substantialfraction of the smoke,including both objectionable and desirable constituents. In addition to'filters,'-some manufacturers have attempted to produce a milder.cigarette, for example by the proper blending of' low-nicotine varietytobaccos.

Now, therefore, Ihave discovered that a class of chemical compounds.known as porphines can be'incorporated into a cigarette or-othertobaccoproduct-for smoking, resulting in azpleasant.mild-smoke with reductionof irritants without apparent decrease in flavor or aroma. Porphines aretetracyclic pyrroles wherein the four pyrrole rings -are-joined at thealpha position by methine groups to ,form'a-rmacrocylic ring, having adouble linkage between carbon atoms7zan'd 8. Furthermore, for thepurpose of my: invention, the porphine must contain an ion of a metalwhich in compounds can exist in more than one oxidation state, such asiron, copper and cobalt.

Now, therefore, in accordance with my invention, I have devised atobacco product, and method of making same, for smoking havingincorporated therein a porphine containing an ion of a metal which incompounds can exist in more than one oxidation state.

Having now indicated in a general way the nature and purpose of myinvention, the following examples are oifered to give specificillustration of the practice of the invention and the advantages to beobtained therefrom and are not to be construed as limiting the same. Inthe examples, the ingredients are given in parts by weight unlessotherwise indicated.

2,739,913 Patented Mar. 27, 1956 2 EXAMPLE 1 Absorption of CO by,oxyhemqglobin A. 70 mm. cigarette wassrnoked ,in ra-smokingmachine ofthe type described in .Industrial .and Engineering Chemistry, volume 28,pages 836-839 (July-193.6),-/and the smoke passed through water. The gas*was collected in a cell having sapphire windows. The infraredabsorption spectrum of the gas was recorded by means of an infraredspectrophotometer. Thepresence of both CO and CO2 was demonstrated bytheir characteristic absorption bands. "This'spectrum was used asthe'control.

-A saturated solution of oxyhemoglobin was prepared. =A70 mm. cigaretteo'f the'same cut'filler as -'above' was smoked in the smoking machineand the smoke'pass'ed through the saturated solution of oxyhemoglobin.The gas was *collectedin a cell having'sapphire windows. Aspectrum wasthen run,'scanning the frequencies characteristic of both CO and C02.The resultingspectrum was compared with the control spectrum and it wasfound that a definite-material reduction of both CO and CO2 hadoccurred.

It was therefore found that 'when oxyhemoglobin is paced in elfectivecooperation with the'tobacco of 'a cigarette, ..a definite reduction ofCO occurred ;in the smoke.

EXAMPLE II 1% hemin treated tobacco A lot'of cigarette tobacco, i. e.,cut filler, was divided into two portions. tlirectlyupon one portion of.this'tobacco in' an amount of 1% by weight. Cigarettes were-then madefrom .both the hemin-treated and untreated tobacco.

The treated and untreated cigarettes were then smoked in the smokingmachines described in Example I, t and the smoke collected. The aldehydecontent of the collected smoke was then determined by the methoddescribed in Analytical Chemistry, volume '25,No.- '4, atpages '640-'642.

The total aldehyde content of the smoke was determined as well as thevolatile aldehydes existing'in the smoke stream in the gas phase. Thelatter was carried out by inserting a filter, made from glasswool-having afiber'diameter of from 0.5 to 1. 5 microns, between'thecigarette and the collection flasks.

The following tableshows the results obtained. .An eifective removal of53.30% of the total aldehyde content of the smoke was obtained from thehemin-treated tobacco, and 65.53% removal of the volatile aldehydecontent of the residual gas phase.

TABLE 1 1 Total aldehydes. 1 Volatile aldehydes, residual gas phase.

EXAMPLE III 2% hemin-treated tobacco Example II was repeated usingidentical cut filler,

exceptthat 2% recrystallized hemin by weight was dusted on the tobacco.The results were as follows:

Recrystallized hemin was dusted EXAMPLE IV Hemin-treated cigarettesmilder Both treated and untreated cigarettes prepared in Example IIIwere distributed to a taste panel after having been coded to hide theiridentity. The heroin-treated cigarettes were judged to be definitelymilder than the untreate d cigarettes by the panel.

While in Example I oxyhemoglobin was placed in effective cooperationwith smoking tobacco, if desired the oxyhemoglobin may be impregnateddirectly in the tobacco, or incorporated in a conventional-type filtertip such as cellulose, cotton, and similar material. However, sinceoxyhemoglobin contains protein matter, it is recommended that it be usedin the filter rather than directly on the tobacco as it may impart acharacteristic taste to the cigarette.

It will be noted in Example II and III that hemin was added directly tothe tobacco. While it may also be incorporated in the filter, it isparticularly suitable for direct addition to the tobacco since itimparts no characteristic taste to the cigarette.

It will be noted that in Examples H and III the amount of hemin wasvaried. The use of 1% hemin gave a greater reduction of aldehydes than2%. However, the 2% hemin-treatcd tobacco is sufliciently effective toresult in a milder smoke than that from untreated tobacco, as shown bythe results of the taste panel in Example IV. It is therefore preferredto use not more than 2% by weight of hemin based on the weight of thetobacco contained therein. From 1 to 2% of hemin will ordinarily be useddepending on the various individual tastes.

The porphine may be incorporated directly on the tobacco by dusting,spraying, dipping or the like. However, if preferred, the porphine maybe incorporated in the filter material such as crepe paper, cellulose,asbestos, foil, cellophane, cotton and the like. It may be dusted on thefilter material in crystalline form, or, if preferred, applied from asolution, dispersion or suspension.

As stated, the porphines of this invention are tetracyclic pyrroleswherein the four pyrrole rings are joined at the alpha position bymethine groups to form a macroof existing in more than one oxidationstate, such as,

copper and cobalt, may be used. The porphines may be obtained fromnaturally occurring substances by wellknown methods. However, ifpreferred, heme, hemin, reduced heme and the like may be synthesized.Furthermore, the porphine may be in combination with a protein such asglobin, for example hemoglobin, or the prosthetic group from hemoglobin,for example heme.

Although the exact constituents of smoke, and in what quantitiespresent, are not known, various compounds have been found present whichhave been classed as ob jectionable constituents. In Example I it wasshown that a porphine such as oxyhemoglobin has the ability tosubstantially remove carbon monoxide from the smoke stream, but itsvalue is not so limited. In Examples II and III the addition of aporphine such as heme totobacco resulted in the substantial reduction oftotal aldehydes as well as volatile aldehydes from the residual gasphase. It is believed that additional objectionable constituents. suchas nicotine, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide and heterocyclicnitrogen-containing compounds are at least partially removed from thesmoke stream. 1

Thus, by my invention, I have devised a novel cigarette or other tobaccoproduct, and method of making said product adapted for smoking, whereinconstituents which are believed to cause irritation to the mucousmembranes of certain smokers or otherwise are considered generallyundesirable are at least partially removed from the smoke stream.Furthermore, the compound can be incorporated either in conventionaltype filter tips or applied directly to the tobacco. The resultingcigarette is a mild, pleasant smoke without loss of flavor or aroma.

I claim:

1. A tobacco product for smoking having incorporated therein not morethan 2% by weight of hemin, based on weight of tobacco containedtherein.

2. In a process of making a filter-tip cigarette, the improved methodconsisting of impregnating the filter prior to its-being combined withthe tobacco with not more than 2% by weight of hemin based on weight oftobacco contained therein.

3. A tobacco product for smoking having incorporated therein from 1 to2% by weight of hemin, based on weight of tobacco contained therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,902,775 Herrmann Mar. 21, 1933 2,460,284 Hale Feb. 1, 1949 FOREIGNPATENTS 167,845 Germany Feb. 20, 1906 OTHER REFERENCES KingzettsChemical Encyclopedia, page 871; 8th edition; published 1952 byBailliere, Tundall and Cox, London. Copy in the Patent Office Library.

1. A TOBACCO PRODUCT FOR SMOKING HAVING INCORPORATED THEREIN NOT MORETHAN 2% BY WEIGHT OF HEMIN, BASED ON WEIGHT OF TOBACCO CONTAINEDTHEREIN.